San Fernando Valley

Child Endangerment Cases

Two San Fernando Valley women were being held Thursday on suspicion of endangering their children by leaving them alone in unfit homes, Los Angeles police said.

Saundra Crockett, 33, of Sunland, was booked at the Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of child endangerment, said Helen Lloyd, an LAPD spokeswoman. She was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

In a separate arrest, Shannan Flynn, 23, of Tujunga was booked at Van Nuys Jail on one count of child endangerment. Her bail also was set at $50,000.

The two cases attracted attention because they came on the heels of a similar incident in which police said a South Los Angeles woman left her three children--all under the age of 3--in a squalid apartment. That woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three counts of felony child abuse.

Officers said they found Crockett's three children- ages 13,7 and 11 months-alone in their Sunland home Wednesday with no food, no water and no power. Police went to the house after receiving a call from the father of one of the children, expressing concern about the children's safety.